The present invention relates in general to a method and device for sorting, storing, and laundering laundry.
Household duties in the past have been the focus of a variety of devices which reduce both the amount of time spent and effort expended to complete a particular household chore. Among other household duties which have to be performed on a routine basis such as cooking and cleaning, laundering today still presents one of the most time intensive duties. Although laundry machines, including washing and drying machines, have been developed which reduce the effort expended and ease the chore of laundering, little attention has been paid to the reduction of the time spent in laundering. As our society struggles to increase its productivity and compete more favorably in the world economy, disposable time becomes more sparse and increasingly valuable. The capability, therefore, to reduce or eliminate the time associated with routine household chores has become a household priority.
For example, each week a typical household, after accumulating soiled garments in hampers during the week, does a minimum of four loads of laundry. A typical laundry chore requires collecting dirty laundry, stored in several locations throughout a household, into a central location. Upon collection, the laundry is then sorted, typically on the floor, by type and quantity into individual loads of laundry. The individual loads are then washed, dried, folded and returned to either closets or drawers, the overall time involved usually spanning a minimum of seven hours, or typically an entire working day.
Several problem areas can be identified with the current method for laundering, including the storage of clothes, the sorting of clothes and the actual washing and drying of clothes. First, current storage methods for laundry are inefficient because an individual cannot easily wash a full, sorted load of laundry without first accumulating all laundry from all stored locations. Hampers or laundry baskets used to collect dirty garments are often unsightly, overflowing and odorous. Random storage prevents location of a particular item and determination of whether a full load of one type of laundry has accumulated. Furthermore, transporting several full hampers or baskets of clothes to a central location, especially in a multi-level house where climbing stairs is required, is not only time-consuming but laborious as well. Similarly, the repetitive bending and lifting required of the launderer by current laundry storage devices is laborious and possibly dangerous, as improper lifting can lead to chronic back injuries.
Current storage methods are also inefficient because sorting is a time consuming procedure required before laundry can be processed. Unsorted accumulation of soiled laundry in several storage locations precludes doing a single sorted load quickly because all laundry in all stored locations must be sorted first to determine if a full load has accumulated. Also, if several partial loads result upon sorting of laundry, the launderer must either run the inefficient smaller loads or return the sorted partial loads of clothes back to their stored locations to be resorted during the next laundry cycle. Furthermore, the sorting of clothes by type is dependent on the individual preferences of the launderer. Many individuals do not let other persons or businesses do their laundry simply because of the possibility that the laundry will be incorrectly sorted and clothing will be ruined.
Finally, the inability to have quick access to single, sorted loads of clothes results in the launderer having to sort and wash four or more loads consecutively. Although laundering a single load of clothes does not require extensive time, effort and expertise, the chore of washing several loads consecutively forces the launderer to be paced by the machine cycles of the laundry machinery. For example, the time involved in laundering a single load of laundry with typical laundry machinery requires 25 minutes for the washing machine cycle and 100 minutes for the drying machine cycle. As most households employ only a single washer and dryer, laundering four loads of laundry will require 425 minutes or over 7 hours (one washing cycle plus four drying cycles, the remaining washing cycles occurring during the drying cycles).
Past devices which have attempted to either store clothing or sort clothing are similar to current laundry hampers in that laundry is stored at ground level. For example Eagles, U.S. Pat. No. 1,650,824, presents a laundry clothes holder having compartments and wheels for easy transportation of laundry. Weldon et al., U.S. Pat. No. 2,625,973, shows a laundry hamper having separate compartments covered by a lid. Upon opening the lid, legends are presented that set forth the particular type of laundry for each compartment. McConnell, U.S. Pat. No. 2,736,454, describes a compartmentalized clothes hamper having a lid which is foot actuated. Fragale, U.S. Pat. No. 2,895,782, presents a clothes hamper having doors and a lid, the lid upon opening presenting indicia plates.
Jones, U.S. Pat. No. 3,995,924, depicts an apparatus for sorting clothes. The apparatus is compartmentalized, with the compartments being removable. Fragale, U.S. Pat. No. 4,057,309, discloses a clothes hamper which is compartmentalized and which has a drawer that is also compartmentalized. Capelli, U.S. Pat. No. 3,958,715, discloses a partitioned ventilated clothes hamper, the partition also being ventilated to allow circulation of air within the hamper. Kohen, Design 144,792, shows a clothes hamper with what appears to be shelving affixed to one side. Lastly, a Wall Hung Clothes Hamper or Similar Article is depicted in Design 195,279 by Taylor.
A need therefore exists for an improved laundry storage device. A need also exists for an improved laundry storage device which also minimizes the effort required to accumulate sorted laundry, including reducing the bending and lifting of accumulated laundry. Also desired is an improved laundry storage device which also stores and sorts accumulated soiled laundry without allowing odors to accumulate.